Relatives thronged an airport in southern Pakistan on Sunday to greet passengers whose flight from Canada was diverted to Sweden after a baseless report that a man aboard had explosives. Canadian officials investigated whether someone with a grudge called in the threat. As passengers were smothered with hugs and kisses from the crowd, they expressed relief that the threat turned out to be nothing. They said the experience was quite frightening, especially when a SWAT team seized the suspect as they evacuated the plane in Stockholm. “We really got scared, especially when we saw a large number of commandos wearing masks coming in,” said Irfan Ahmed, a 35-year-old passenger on the flight from Toronto. Passengers were told there was a technical problem with the aircraft _ a Boeing 777 operated by Pakistan International Airlines _ and didn't find out the real reason until they were on the ground. The plane was diverted after an anonymous woman in Canada tipped off authorities that a Canadian man on the flight was carrying explosives, said Royal Canadian Mounted Police spokesman Sgt. Marc LaPorte. The tip proved false, and police are now investigating whether the incident was a “terrorism hoax,” he said. A prosecutor decided to release the man after questioning, and police were trying to help him continue his journey to Karachi either late Saturday or Sunday, police spokesman Erik Widstrand said, adding the man had cooperated with investigators. Haji Mohammad Umar, who sat next to the suspect during the flight, said the man told him he was returning to Pakistan after a very long time to get married. He seemed happy by the prospect and was a bit drunk, said Umar.
